Fast Paced and Great for Growth - Software Engineer II SpaceX Employee Review

5.0
May 24, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* You will work on lots of different projects and get tons of experience in the process. * Stock value has gone up a lot. * Lots of growth opportunities open up quickly. * They don't care as much about politics or other whatever is in the news. Instead we're making the news. * Flexible career growth/trajectory. Allows for management to go back down to single contributor and for quick upwards trajectory too. * They take feedback from anyone and everyone.

Cons

* It is mostly work/work balance. You can have a life but the stated expectation is a minimum of 50 work week. Many co-workers will often bleed way over that expectation btw. * There's a soft requirement to be on-site and you'll probably want to be on-site anyways as it's difficult to work remotely here unless you've been here a while. * Compensation is lower than competition. This is slightly offset by growth opportunities.

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

5.0
Jul 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The vision No desk jobs here Powerful company with determined employees Pays below avg and for full time employees and extract as many hours as they can

Cons

Long hours can be challenging if you don’t have a good manager or understanding partner Stocks are good Vacation starts with 3 week/year On site food is not bad Sabbatical at 5 years

5.0
Jun 29, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

* **Unmatched Mission & Impact:** You are literally working on rockets and spacecraft. The cool factor is 10/10. * **Brilliant Coworkers:** You will be surrounded by some of the smartest, most driven engineers in the world. * **Insane Career Growth:** SpaceX on your resume is a golden ticket. You will learn more here in 3 months than in 3 years at a normal company. * **Hands-on Experience:** They actually trust interns with real, critical hardware. No boring coffee-fetching tasks.

Cons

**Cons:** * **Zero Work-Life Balance:** 70-80 hours a week is the norm, not the exception. Say goodbye to your social life and sleep. * **Extreme Burnout:** The "hustle culture" is toxic. You are expected to treat the company as your entire life. * **Mediocre Pay:** The hourly pay is average, especially when you factor in the insane hours and the high cost of living in LA/Hawthorne. * **Chaotic Management:** Decisions can change overnight based on whatever Elon Musk tweets or feels like doing that morning.

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